How to Choose Pruning Shears: Bypass vs. Anvil vs. Ratchet

How to Choose Pruning Shears by What You Cut

Choose pruning shears by the stems you cut most. For live, green growth, which is most garden pruning, buy bypass shears. For dead, dry wood, anvil shears do the job with less jamming. If your grip is weak or your hands tire, a ratchet model cuts in stages with less effort. All three are hand tools for stems up to about 3/4 inch in diameter, and thicker wood belongs to loppers or a saw.

Iowa State University Extension states the general rule directly: bypass hand pruners are preferred over anvil types. The reasons come from how each one cuts.

Bypass vs. Anvil vs. Ratchet Pruners

A bypass pruner works like scissors. Its curved blades overlap as they close, and the sharpened blade slices past the hook. When sharp, it makes close, clean cuts and slips into narrow branch angles. University of Maryland Extension rates bypass pruners as superior because they reduce tearing and crushing of plant tissue. Use them on roses, shrubs, perennials, fruit tree shoots and anything you deadhead.

An anvil pruner has one sharpened blade that comes down on a flat surface, the anvil. It cannot cut as close to a branch as a bypass tool and is more likely to crush the stem. University of Missouri does not recommend anvil shears for that reason, noting that the straight blade tends to crush plant tissue. Its place is dead wood. Iowa State notes that anvil pruners are effective on dead branches and less likely to jam than bypass types, and University of Missouri adds that they can get through larger limbs than bypass pruners can.

A ratchet pruner adds a mechanism to reduce hand strain. In NC State Extension’s description, the pruner latches as you squeeze, so you can release and squeeze again until the cut is finished. Where a ratchet model is built on an anvil head, the same caution about live stems applies. They earn their keep on woody vines and old canes when a full-force squeeze is not possible.

Type	How it cuts	Use it for	On live stems	Limit
Bypass	Sharp blade slices past a hook, like scissors	Live, green stems	Close, clean cut	Can jam on hard dead wood
Anvil	Blade closes onto a flat plate	Dead, dry branches	Tends to crush tissue	Cannot cut flush to the branch
Ratchet	Latches and cuts in several squeezes	Weak grip, tough wood	Depends on the head, bypass or anvil	Slower per cut

For a longer side-by-side on the first two, see bypass vs. anvil pruners.

Know the Cutting Limit: 3/4 Inch

Every pair of hand shears has a ceiling, and extension guides place it in a narrow band. Iowa State says hand pruners are generally used on branches up to 3/4 inch in diameter. NC State is more conservative at less than 1/2 inch, while Maryland and Missouri put the ceiling at about one inch. Treat 3/4 inch as the working limit and 1/2 inch as the comfortable one.

Above that, change tools:

• Loppers handle branches from 3/4 to 1 1/2 inches in diameter. The long handles supply the leverage.
• A pruning saw takes over on branches larger than 1 3/4 inches.
• Pole pruners reach overhead branches up to 2 inches in diameter.

If most of your work is late-winter pruning of fruit trees and large shrubs, budget for loppers and a folding saw alongside the shears. Missouri describes a good pruning saw as having a curved blade with seven to eight teeth per inch.

Fit, Build and Parts to Check

Pick the tool up before you buy if you can. NC State’s advice is to check the feel of several styles, because each design is different and a tool that is uncomfortable is of little use. Open and close it several times with the hand you prune with, and try a smaller frame if the full squeeze feels like a stretch.

NC State’s short list of what to look for is high-quality steel, a fit that suits your hand, a slim cutting head and a curved blade or anvil. The slim head matters when you are reaching between crowded blueberry canes or rose stems.

Replaceable parts decide how long the tool lasts. Missouri points out that replacement blades can be bought for the better makes if a blade is damaged, so ask whether spare blades and springs are sold for the model you are considering. Iowa State makes the wider case: high-quality tools perform better and far outlast poor-quality ones when used and cared for properly.

Match the Tool to the Job

Most gardens need one good pair and perhaps a second for special work.

• General pruning of live shrubs, roses and fruit trees: a mid-size bypass pruner. If you buy one tool, buy this.
• Deadheading, herbs and cut flowers: small bypass snips with a narrow tip.
• Dead wood and dry, hardened canes: an anvil pruner.
• Arthritis or a weak grip: a ratchet pruner, kept mainly for dead or tough wood.
• Anything over 3/4 inch: loppers up to 1 1/2 inches, then a saw.

Care That Keeps Shears Cutting

A sharp, clean blade does more for cut quality than any feature on the package.

Clean. Wash pruners with soap and water to remove sap and debris. For light to moderate rust, steel wool takes it off, and our guide to removing rust from garden tools covers heavier cases. Avoid vinegar on steel that rusts easily.

Disinfect. When cutting diseased wood, Maryland recommends cleaning tools between cuts with 70 percent alcohol, or with bleach diluted one part to nine parts water. Rinse bleach off, because it is corrosive to metal.

Sharpen. Bypass blades are single beveled and anvil blades are double beveled. On a bypass blade that means working the one beveled side, since University of Minnesota Extension warns against creating a bevel where none exists. Follow the existing angle, which Minnesota puts at 10 to 20 degrees, and stroke in one direction instead of back and forth. A file, a diamond sharpener or a whetstone all work. The full method is in how to sharpen pruners and loppers.

Oil. Keep a light coating of oil on the blade and on any bolts and springs. Linseed oil or a bicycle-chain lubricant is suitable.

Quick recap

• Bypass shears for live stems, anvil for dead wood, ratchet for a weak grip.
• Hand pruners stop at about 3/4 inch. Loppers cover 3/4 to 1 1/2 inches, and a saw takes branches over 1 3/4 inches.
• Check the fit in your hand, a slim cutting head and replaceable blades.
• Disinfect with 70 percent alcohol or 1 part bleach to 9 parts water.
• Sharpen the beveled side only, at the existing 10 to 20 degree angle, and keep the blade lightly oiled.